Discipleship Strategies

Strategies for Making Disciples

The power of the Word: According to research, the number one indicator for spiritual growth in both children and adults is simple: regular Bible reading (note this does not say daily although that is certainly a good regular interval to use). Consider developing strategies for encouraging people to read their Bibles.

Providing a church-wide reading plan for people to adopt and follow. There are many options available to choose from.

Emphasizing the importance of regular Bible reading in sermons and group times.

Choosing a memory verse for the entire church to learn together on a regular basis i.e. quarterly or monthly.

The Word of God is powerful and active (Hebrews 4:12) and we can see that power at work when we are all reading God’s Word regularly.

The power of a vision: Make sure everyone is seeing the same picture. Define what it means to be a disciple and use a simple model that everyone can remember and repeat. It can be something like Be a Disciple by Knowing God’s Word and Doing What It Says and using the keywords: Be, Know, Do. It can be an extensive model that describes growth from Newborn (new believer) to Child (growing disciple) to Young Adult (maturing disciple) to Parent (making disciples) like the Real Life model. There are plenty of other models and ways to define the process, but the important part is making sure that everyone is on the same page. We can help you define the process that would work best in your place of ministry.

The power of process: Always keep in mind that this is a process and not a program. Think of it as a road-map. It will work best when you have an idea of where you are going as well as where you are in the process at any given time as a disciple. Define a way to measure where a person is as a disciple to know where they need to go next. We have provided a couple of online assessments that can be used for this. We can also help you create your own.

The power of community: Discipleship is made easier in community. As Scripture says, two are better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9ff) and the power of a small group to provide encouragement and challenge to grow as a disciple is well known. Start a new group whose primary focus is on discipleship. We have included a resource that can help with this process called Go Disciple.

The power of intentionality: In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty. – Proverbs 14:23. No matter what plan you choose, the real key will be seeing it through. You can do it. We can help.